Soul Food
by Shadowwolf-chan the Kharl fan
Summary: Just your typical story of a not so typical relationship, and how it came it be. We guess. And all the Dragons can say is: " Why KHARL?" ( KaisternxKharl )
1. Late late, for a date

Disclaimer: Well, I don't own them, that's for sure. Otherwise, the story line would be a helluva lot different.. *cackle*

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*~Soul Food~*

Warnings?-- Shonen-ai, mostly rated for later chapters_. This is unedited, b/c all by betas decided to disappear when I wanted to post this ~_~;_

A/n--Yes, as you might have not figured out, this is KaisternxKharl. And if you haven't guessed, I am one of the only two people who support KaisternxKharl. The other is sparkle hunter here ( on FF.net ) and also commonly known as Anonymous. Go read her stories as well, if you feel even slightly interested ( or just curious ) in the pairing. (I helped w/ some of the ideas in them! ^^;) 

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Kaistern moaned as he rolled over in bed, unable to sleep. Nagging, nagging… there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head, making it quite impossible for him to sleep. Toss and turn as he might, it was hopeless. He had obviously forgotten something important ... but what was it? 

Getting out of bed, he stalked over to the mirror on the opposite side of the room, staring at his reflection which of course promptly stared back at him. 

"What did I forget?" 

Try as he might, the Blue Dragon Officer just couldn't get his brain to cough up the much wanted answer. He sighed, running his hand through his slightly messy hair as he wracked his mind for possible motives. 

Well, he would always remember in the morning, that's just how it was for him. A good nights sleep would always do him some good….and considering it was around three in the morning, he didn't really expect himself to remember anything anyway. 

Turning back to the bed, he was just about to go back under the silken covers when he caught sight of the freshly folded white sheets, placed neatly on a chair in a obscure corner of his room. 

"SHIT! Kharl!" jumping off the bed, he quickly pulled some pants over his sleeping shorts and darted out the door, not caring to close the door after him, eat something, or even leave a note for that matter. 

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Lykoleon poked at his eggs with his fork, fidgeting in his seat relentlessly. Even on such a nice day, with the birds chirping and the sun shining he could not relax. Perhaps it was the screaming, spazzing, white dragon officer next to him, yelling about some obscure thing? Maybe. He never could figure out Alfeegi completely anyway. 

"Lykoleon! Are you even listening to me?"

"Hmm?" Its not that the Lord was being rude, on the contrary, he didn't mind Alfeegi at all. He just got so used to him stressing out over the simplest things that…well, you just learn to tune things out. 

Clearing his throat, the aqua-haired officer continued, this time making sure he had the Dragon Lords full attention. 

" Kaistern is missing"

" ….Wah?" The blonde dropped his fork, narrowly having breakfast miss his face when it came splattering back from the force of the previously mentioned utensil dropping. 'Damn Newtons Law….' mildly came to mind. 

"From what I was able to gather, he was seen sprinting out of the castle in nothing but jeans and a pair of shoes around three forty A.M. this morning….he was muttering something about forgetting something."

Lykoleon released his breath that he didn't know he was holding in the first place, relaxing a bit. "Oh…I thought he was abducted or something, from the way you were going on about it…"

Alfeegi's eye twitched, making sure not to strangle the Lord of the Lands…he _was_ kind of important after all. "But, haven't you heard the rumors?"

Lykoleon blinked, inquiring more information as his eyes showed the slightest hint of question. 

"…..Rumors?" 

The white dragon office sighed, handing a newspaper to the dragon lord. The headlines, Lykoleon discovered, were very interesting indeed. Well, definitely something to catch anyone's attention, that was for sure.

They were in bold, italicized, underlined print, taking up most of the header of the first page. But what it wasn't the fancy typing or big words that caused the Dragon lord to almost lose his just eaten breakfast, not at all. It was the full formed sentence, just a few words. Simple, but unmistakably shocking.

**__**

"Blue Dragon Officer and Renkin wizard, rumored to be seeing each other! Will this Break the bonds of war between Dragons and Demons?"

Alfeegi continued as the Lord gaped at the paper, still trying to register this newly received information. "Usually I would just dismiss this as the humans getting bored and making up stories to entertain themselves, but now I'm starting to wonder. Well, it might not be Kharl, but Kaistern must have some kind of relationship started. I mean, for a while now he has been acting…well, not normal, for lack of better words."

Lykoleon continued to stare fish-eyed at the paper, now unblinking. 

"Like his disappearing acts lately. Now, I know he has always been one to wander, but its just ridiculous. He'll disappear for a week or so, without telling any of us mind you, and coming back exhausted."

The dragon lord slowly came out of his shock, his mind pulling itself out of the fog. " What would cause anyone to think he was going out with Kharl though? I mean, talk about you more that average nut-case…not to mention he's up there on the 'formidable' charts along with Nadil… "

" He's been taking a lot of ships to Arinas."

"Arinas?"

"Yes. Not to mention its odd to see him looking longingly at white bed sheets." 

Lykoleon almost laughed at the mental image of that, but decided against it. "What should we do?"

Startling them both, they were interrupted by Ruwalk standing in the door way. "You should start by not making any assumptions." Noticing the looks he was getting, he decided he should explain himself. "I heard it all -- you should really close doors if you want to speak privately." 

Blushing in shame, Lykoleon spoke up for both of them. " Yes…your right. We shouldn't make assumptions. Besides, why on earth would Kaistern be seeing Kharl? We're insane for even thinking that."

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Kaistern cast a somber eye at the door before him, his hand paused attentively above the large brass door-knocker as if in question. He was torn and tattered, beat and worn from the long trip he had endured, might he add, in record time. 

But not _in _time. 

Yes, he was quite late for something he really shouldn't have been later for, and knew he was going to get hell for it one way or another. 

Kaistern might have been well known for letting himself wander around from place to place, but very few people ever realized that not only did he physically wander around like some Child with ADD but mentally tended to wander quite a bit as well. 

Deciding he might go for the "I was going to surprise you!" method, he casually threw his idea of knocking aside and ambled in, just to trip over the other human of the household; Garfakcy. 

All he did was take one step in the door, and he was already tripping over him. 

Again. 

As Gravity continued to take its course --which wasn't always expected in the alchemist's household-- Kaistern's continually wandering mind paused to speculate upon the on goings of 'now.' 

It seemed that whenever he was anywhere near the shorter human, he seemed to be incessantly tripping over him. It didn't matter where or when it was, it just happened. From getting a snack in the cellar to going to the shower, the multicolor haired boy was there, under his feet. Maybe it was that he never looked down when he was walking? Perhaps…. But it had gotten so ridiculous that it was to that point that he had paranoid the poor boy into believing that Kaistern was "following him around and kicking him."-- in his own words.

But, soon enough the cold, ( perfectly kept, might he add ) stone-tiled floor had done its good deed for that day by bringing the taller man back to his senses. And oh, did it do a good job. 

"….Itai…."

A apathetic Garfakcy stared at him from his spot on the floor, as a sneer creeped its way onto his facial features. 

"Serves you right"

Kaistern pulled himself up onto his knees finding that the floor was just fin, seating himself more comfortably as he turned his attention the person before him.

"Well, I see you've at least found a way to scramble out from under me…."

"No thanks to you."

The awkward, silent staring contest continued, unblinking as far as the paintings and statues were concerned. Usually one would say "as far as that dust was concerned" but as long as the slightly obsessive-compulsive housekeeper/servant/homicidal terrorist was about, dust would cease to be. 

"Have…you seen…Kharl?" 

A small but slender finger pointed toward the west wing of the elaborate hall, while his gaze stayed fixated on the taller man's eyes in hoping to bring about some sort of discomfort.

"West lab, the one on the right" 

Happy for an excuse to scramble away from the unwavering eyes, he got up quickly and started a rushed gait toward the said Laboratory. 

"Er, thanks.."

Garfakcy replied to the gratitude by picking up his mop and resuming his interrupted cleaning, as if nothing had even happened. 

Kaistern slunk into a quiet stroll as he further distanced himself from the entrance.

'He scares me sometimes….'

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; Right…er, it will get better, I promise ( sweatdrop ) yeah ^^;; I have a tendency to get lazy, so you might have to bug me for updates, if worse comes to worse Oo;

Next time: Kaistern, Kharl, a newspaper, a voodoo doll, and some frantic insanity as truths are revealed at the dragon castle. 

~*~R&R, onegai! ~*~


	2. MPD i am not

Disclaimer: I don't own them, no matter what I say or claim…. Can't sleep lawyers will eat me… Can't sleep lawyers will eat me……

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~*Soul Food*~ 

Warnings? - No betas again…I really need to have spare and backup ones…or at least ones that are on at the same quirky hours I am… Oo; 

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"Mercury fumes could do that to you, ya know?"

"I just think he's naturally batty, if you ask me…."

"Aren't we assuming…?"

"Well, who else could it be!?"

The Dragon lord and available officers sat around an obscure meeting table, discussing the latest quip on Kaistern's unknown affair. One would think that gossiping would be only popular among the maids (and it was very much so) but boredom overruled priority sometimes and even the pettiest gossip would eventually waft its way up to the highest members of the castle. 

Tetheus glowered on one end of the table, deep in thought. " well, has anyone else noticed the faint demon aura on him when ever he gets home? I can tell he tries to cover it up, but…"

Ruwalk blinked, everyone practically able to see the gears turning. "That just adds to the suspicion, doesn't it. Hmmm."

Alfeegi was also there, but not by choice as you could plainly see. He sat with his arms crossed, much in a matter that stated 'We should all be doing paper work and here we are sitting around talking like a bunch of teen-aged girls going on about the latest news on Oh-my-gawd-he-is-so-hot!' Not that anyone took time to notice. "I think your all just being petty, you think? I mean, who cares even if it _is_ Kharl? Its not like its really effecting us…"

The Lord chuckled, an inward thought gracing his mind. 'Trying to cover up the fact your miffed that he keeps on running off, hm?' 

As if he had been reading Lykoleon's mind, Ruwalk spoke up against the oddly twitchy officer in his place. "You know your worried about Kaistern as much as we are. That façade of yours isn't going to last very long. Ruwalk took care to use his most caramel-coated voice he had in the process. 

Another twitch.

"Anyway, if your so determined to know why don't you just ask Rath? He probably knows the most about Kaistern anyway."

The Dragon Lord tilted his head, not really in deep of thought as his friend, but almost matching the expression. "Maybe we should try later..."

"If you put half this effort into your paperwork, I bet you could get it done in two hours, flat."

"Where's the fun in that?"

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Kaistern idly slid up to the large heavy oak door, being careful not to make the slightest unnecessary sound. Light mumbling could be heard for inside, incoherent but definitely there. Kind of like the high-pitched noise the television makes when you leave the sound off but keep the screen on. 

After a few minutes of waiting and thinking, a light bump was felt on the back of his leg as he continually pondered about completely pointless things. Upon turning around, Kaistern was able to discover that it was none other than Sinistora looking lightly annoyed at the taller man. 

" Hmm? What do you need?"

The demon dog stared intently at the door knob of the room.

"You want in, I take it." 

Kaistern sighed once again, but then realizing that it was getting to be quite a regular practice, he decided that he was better off if he stopped. 

'I swear this dog and that kid are ganging up on me…'

Unbeknownst to Kaistern, his suspicions were completely correct. Sinistora was very much devoted to Garfakcy, and Garfakcy was very attached to the left beast. They got along so well in fact, that Kharl just let Garfakcy take care of his own creation…It would keep him company when he was with Kaistern. He would get lonely after all. 

So as things went along, the two shorter occupants of the castle felt rather dejected, as one can expect. And there is no better way to cure the loneliness than a bit of plotting… 

Anyway.

Kaistern slowly turned the knob, not very fond of the fact he was having to be rushed into his intrusion of Kharl's Laboratory when he hadn't even thought up a half decent excuse for being late. But nonetheless, he pushed the door open allowing entrance to him and his canine companion. 

"Kharl I'm really sorry-"

"What are you doing here? Did you give me a surprise visit? Or did you just want to come a week early?"

A bright smile peeked from behind some odd concoction or two, before Kharl found his way to the other pale man. A warm embrace followed. Kaistern was still reeling in shock, utterly confused to what was going on. 

"Wah…early?"

"Yes. don't you remember?" A fake pout flashed across the violet eyed man's face. "You were supposed to come next week!"

Kaistern didn't know whether to feel grateful or just downright stupid. 

"ah….uh….Well, I missed you so much that I decided to just come early!" He decided that bullshitting his way through this would be the least painful for both of them.

Kharl gave another one of those genuinely happy looks again, looking Kaistern straight in the eye. Kaistern had always been afraid that if Kharl ever wanted to, he could see right through him with those damn eyes…Even when he was happy, they seemed to have a mind of their own. 

He moved closer to the cloak-bound man, their lips almost touching before Sinistora barked loudly, Causing Kharl to pull out of the welcoming cuddle. 

"What is it, boy?" 

Lilac streaked hair bustled around the room, looking for what was going on to upset his left beast. Another tap at the window alerted Kharl as he pulled open the shudders, allowing Right bird to flutter in and land on his shoulder. "There you are!"

Kaistern secretly smiled to himself, watching his boyfriend absent mindedly searching about for something or other. He really didn't have that much contact with people other outside of his creations and Garfakcy, did he. He must have been lonely…

"There is it!"

Kharl Pulled out a slip of paper, examining it before handing it to the dragon officer. It was just a piece of paper, with something or other scrawled in it in some magic runes or something. He never really was good with magic.

"Ano…thanks. But what is it?"

Kharl Was petting his beloved Demon dog, as Right bird perched on his shoulder preening its silky black feathers. 

"It's a spell. It can allow you to get here by doing something the equivalent of teleporting, except with out all the loud noise. You just have to hold it In your hand and say the spell on it. Quite easy actually…."

"Why didn't you give this to me before!?"

Kaistern recalled the countless times he had to sail across the sea god, he hated the sea, spend weeks in advance catching up on paperwork, avoid Alfeegi's Lectures, make more excuses than he could count… 

A hurt look crossed Kharl's face, the once cast aside pout returning for a second round.

'He's to good at that…that really has to stop…'

"Well, I couldn't just hand over the key to my castle to a dragon without being fully sure he was trustable!"

"You didn't trust me?"

"Well, you never can be too safe. Its not that I didn't trust you, its just that I don't trust people in common."

"Kharl?"

"Yes?"

"You need to move."

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Rath squirmed in his seat, as all eyes fixed on him. Lykoleon felt guilty putting his son on the spot, but what had to be done had to be done. 

"Rath…."

"Hm?" 

Rath hated all of the people surrounding him, so it really didn't improve his mood. So now what? Did he do something wrong?

"Do you know if…Kaistern has any _strange_ relationships?"

Rath twitched, a memory coming back to him from a few weeks earlier. 

__

"Ne, Kaistern?"

"Nani?"

"Who are you seeing?"

A sweatdrop shown over The Blue dragon officers head, a dead giveaway to all the world. 

"Ano…I don't know what your talking about?"

"Awwww…come on Kaistern! I tell you Everything! Can't you just tell me this one little thing?"

Rath pulled on his best pout, knowing that the taller man was so susceptible to such antics, even if he knew it was just an act. 

"Don't you love me? I wont tell anyone! I promise."

A grin pulled across the fire knights face as a sigh escaped from the white-haired man's lips. 

"You'll be angry…."

"Would it make my father upset?"

A blank stare was the answer, as Kaistern tried to avert his eyes. 

"Then, you can tell me, cant you?"

Kaistern never did tell him. All Rath managed to do was put a huge guilt-trip on him, even with all that work. Damn. 

"No, not that I know of…"

Rath felt a tingle in the back of his head, as a voice started talking from the depths of his mind. 

'you should tell him what you know…'

Many people didn't realize it, but you do get complications from absorbing people into yourself. Like, for instance, where did the SOULS go? Well, the answer was obvious, they just never thought about it. That's what Rath supposed anyway.

'I SAID-'

'oh, shut up Gil!' 

Yup. He had to put up with several people ( who didn't necessarily get along ) bickering in his head, 24/7. Then they wonder why he's so grumpy all the time….

"Rath?"

"What!?"

The lord and his officers just stared. He seemed awful touchy today…even more that usual. 

"Fine then…your dismissed."

Rath got up and left in a hurry, not caring how rude or abrupt he seemed. He had some things to sort out. Speeding up, he tried to get to his room so he could yell properly without getting accused of being schizophrenic or something to that extent. 

The marble halls were beautiful, truly elegant if you really thought about it. Gold snaked its way around the intricately carved corners, Tree-like pillars dotting the walls. Not that Rath took notice like most would. 

He finally reached his room, pulling the doors open while practically flinging himself in. 

"Will you both shut up for once?!"

'Huh?' Bierrez couldn't quite look up, but if he could he would. The best he could do was actually say it, and he wasn't _that_ desperate for simple gestures. 

'We didn't do anything..' Gil also retorted, giving off the sense that he was slightly undignified. He would have been able to hide his emotions if he was in his body, but his emotions were an open book to Rath now. That was probably the reason he was so irritated, unlike when he was 'alive.' He hated when people could see right through him. 

"You two...I otta…"

Bierrez was less that amused. "It's you fault for killing us…"

"Damn you both."

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A/n: Ne, ne, okies chappy 2 up….*blink* Oo; my Cheek is bleeding…(no, really Oo; ) woah, quite a bit…*sweat drop* I'm gonna have to wash my hands and face…. Weird…oh well, hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll try to start chappie 3 soon! ^^; 

~*R&R, it makes me unbelievably happy...onegai?*~


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